


Witch's Brew

by divagonzo, smutty_claus



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-15
Updated: 2017-12-15
Packaged: 2019-02-15 04:41:14
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 18,383
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13023432
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/divagonzo/pseuds/divagonzo, https://archiveofourown.org/users/smutty_claus/pseuds/smutty_claus
Summary: Harry and Ginny have a not-normal relationship going after 2 years of dating, due to their different and busy schedules. So when Ginny finds out that Harry is going off on a mission, for upwards of a year, she asks him to open their relationship while he’s gone. When he returns early, and finds some things out, he turns to another willing soul who will give him what he needs for a time.





	Witch's Brew

**To:  
From: Your Secret Santa.**

> **Title:** _Witch’s Brew_  
>  **Author:** Divagonzo  
>  **Pairing:** Harry/Ginny; Harry/Daphne  
>  **Summary:** Harry and Ginny have a not-normal relationship going after 2 years of dating, due to their different and busy schedules. So when Ginny finds out that Harry is going off on a mission, for upwards of a year, she asks him to open their relationship while he’s gone. When he returns early, and finds some things out, he turns to another willing soul who will give him what he needs for a time.  
>  **Rating:** NC-17  
>  **Length:** 18217  
>  **Warnings:** Indirect mentions of war-time events and Harry’s upbringing.  
>  **Author's notes:** , it was a pleasure to write for you, including some prompts in a few ways that might not have been expected. (The plot idea came to me very quickly, especially with the one in particular that I hope you will enjoy.) I apologize for the lack of tropes but I hope I made up for it in plot and included kinks from the prompts. My thanks to G for the extensive beta work and cleaning up all the additional commas, and to the lovely Mods **Nightfalltwen** and **Glitter_Pink** for hosting the Fest for another glorious year! 

* * *

Harry stepped out their bedroom and saw his girlfriend of 2 years walking up the stairs wearing not a stitch. Her freckled skin glittered under the fairy lights that adorned the bannister along the stairwell of their shared residence. Ginny went overboard, along with Hermione and Molly’s help in decorating the residence this year. The bottle of butterbeer in her hand sparkled from the condensation on the side of the glass. Harry shook his head. “Fancy a walk? Did you show off in the Leaky Cauldron? Did you flaunt for maybe a photo or three for the Quibbler?”

Ginny took a long last pull from the bottle and dropped it into the rubbish bin inside the bathroom across from their room. She shifted her body and Harry smirked. “I felt peckish while you were tidying up in the bathroom so I went downstairs for a sandwich and crisps. I didn’t feel like putting on a housecoat when no one else was out and about.” She smiled at his Christmas sleep trousers he had on, along with last year’s hand knitted jumper from Molly.

“No one saw you, did they?” His voice rumbled like it usually did after he took a steaming hot shower in the evening.

Ginny laughed and it sounded like the best crystal glass that could be bought. “Those two kneazles we share the house with? Pshaw! They retired an hour ago. We won’t hear from them ‘til morning. Kreacher is off-duty and I didn’t want to bother him. You know how cranky he gets when you ask him for something off-hours.” Ginny pushed Harry into their room before locking the door. She felt the magic seal the door to all but elf magic. Harry’s spell work had grown potent since he joined the Aurors. She was most thankful for it since it kept Mum from barging in on them along with a few others. She stepped up to him, whispering, ‘ _Fuck me,_ ’ in his ear before nipping it a touch too rough. “Fuck me hard. Pull my hair and make me beg.” Ginny ran her hand over the front of his sleep trousers – the ones she bought him last Christmas with little reindeer on a red background – for encouragement. “I know this monster is always hungry for more.”

Harry moaned. “Didn’t we do that this morning when I came home from work?” He groaned when she groped the front of his sleep trousers and palmed the growing bulge under her hand. “Damn! Do you take a potion to make you this randy?” He reached out to her bare hips but she stepped from him, giving him a sultry and smoldering look. “But if you’re horny,” he left the rest of his comment unsaid.

Ginny waited until he dropped his hands to press up next to him. Her handful of responsive breasts, taut belly with softness covering core muscles she used to control the broom, powerful thighs that could grip a broom or his hips with equal strength, and neatly trimmed bush between her legs made his mouth water and his bollocks ache for her. She didn’t look like a normal Quidditch chaser since she was much shorter than most but she was already one of the best in the European League and had a great chance of making the Under 22 team. Her tenacity and fearlessness made the rest look like children just learning to fly.

She only had to convince the National coaches.

“When am I not gagging for you, Harry? How many times have we spent a weekend in bed, fucking one another for hours?”

“Not often enough, but since you insist,” Harry pushed down his sleep trousers and black boxers. His cock sprung free from the confines of his trousers and pants, enthusiastic for what was going to happen. He took another step, nestling his cock between them, a few inches too tall for the crux between her legs. “What’s your pleasure, love?”

“Fast and hard,” her voice took on a husky quality that always drove him spare. She placed one kiss on the dimple on his throat. “If I can walk normally when we’re done we’re going again.” She stood up on her toes to brush a kiss on his lips. “I need you and I need this.” She stroked her hand up and down his willing cock. “The bastards, they’re taking you away from me too long, again.”

Harry frowned. “Turn around,” his voice dropped timbre into gruff and grumpy. Ginny smirked at his Auror voice. She seemed to be the only one immune to it. He put his hands on her shoulders and spun her around, gently putting her face on the wall of their bedroom. She sighed when she felt him pressing his hard body behind her. “When I tell you to do something, do it,” he growled before pushing her head aside to bite her on the shoulder, following with sloppy wet kisses along her neck. He nibbled on her ear, making her moan. “We don’t have time to play games.” He moved her head the other way and continued his assault on the other side of her neck, leaving small bites on her neck and shoulders. “You will do what I ask.”

“Fuck me, bitch.”

“I’m no one’s bitch,” he growled again before spreading her knees and feet apart, “even if I love you being on top, riding me for hours.” He spread his feet wide so he could rub his cock back and forth over her sodden slit. “But today, you will do what I ask.” He ran his hands over the tops of her hips into the trimmed thatch of hair, pushing a finger in to rub her clit.

She did as he asked, putting one hand on the wall while her other one covered his, making his ministrations harder than he would give.

“If you’re waiting for a formal invitation to fuck me, you now have it.”

Harry thrust up hard, lifting her off the floor. “God Yes!” She yelled, glad to have him inside her again.

Two calloused hands left her hips to hold her shoulders. He wanted to make this fuck last but knew it wouldn’t be all that long, at least the first time. He went at a pace that would hold him off from exploding long enough for her to orgasm: hard and fast into her, slowly withdrawing from her body while dragging the bell of his cock along the roof of her cunt. Each stroke took focus, to hold off his bollocks exploding within seconds. Fucking Ginny made everything else seem right in this cocked up world they lived in.

Ginny shifted under his thrusts. He looked over her shoulder and saw her putting her hands on her breasts, tweaking and pinching her nipples. “Harry,” she keened. He watched in wonder at how she took all of his cock in her without complaint and some compliment.

He knew what she was working towards – coming with him at the same time. It rarely happened but when it did, bother were content for days afterwards.

Her talented fingers worked faster and the image before him, using her body to sheathe his cock while she toyed with her nipples was too much. He felt the tightening in his bollocks. “Ginny,” he whined.

“Almost,” her quivering voice came back and he knew it by the fluttering of the muscles on his cock. He thought revolting and nasty things to stave off his imminent explosion but heard her breath hitch and her freeze a moment before she screamed, gripping down on his cock. Harry exploded seconds after her, grinding his hips up to find that one spot she claimed only he could reach. She groaned again, gripping him and milking his cock for every precious drop he would give.

She breathed once and collapsed, relaxing finally. Harry slid out of her and fell back into the bedclothes, content.

Deep breaths rattled the room, clashing in rhythm with one another.

“I wish you weren’t going. Say you’re sick and you can’t go. Stay home with me, at least through the end of the year. The sods can wait a week for you to leave, right?”

Harry sighed. “I wish to Merlin I could.”

“Sure you can. It’s quite easy. Let some of the others take the mission. You’ve done entirely too much already in the 2 years you’ve been in the department.”

“I can’t. It’s my job. It’s not like I can refuse the mission. And I’m the one they want going after them, me and a few others.”

Ginny shifted to lounge across his chest, twirling a few of his chest hairs in her calloused fingers. “I know but I had to try.”

“You did. I’m glad you did.”

Ginny laid her head down on his shoulder and Harry pulled her close.

“It’s not like I’m the only one hunting these bastards. Everyone save the Director has been out tracking them down for the past 3 1/2 years. Everyone has gone, and most of the time, it’s been a year. I hope not but I don’t want you being caught out of sorts.”

“A year? A year? Fuck that. Shit.” She rolled off his chest and rolled away from him, showing her back to him. He silently agreed with her assessment but snuggled up to her back, reaching over her hip to hold her.

“It’s not forever,” he said to her back. “But Kingsley did say that it’s vital that we capture them, no matter how long it takes. He’s already fighting off the Wizengamot, who are threatening to sack him if the top three on the list aren’t caught in the next year. They’re threatening to eliminate the Aurors due to incompetence, so they think. It’s not like we’re sitting at our desk doing nothing.” Harry rubbed her back a little, hopefully, to demonstrate how much he hated leaving. “When Ron was off with Auror Williamson, he was gone four months while trying to chase down Lestrange. They only came back because of capturing the ringleaders of the trafficking scheme from the continent. Even then another two were off the same day so the trail wouldn’t go stale.”

Ginny kept her back to him. “So you’re asking me to wait on you, yet again, while you go off to save the world.” She turned around and he bit his lip. Two rogue tears were falling down her cheeks. “I thought this mission was only for a fortnight, like the others.” Harry frowned. Ginny wiped it away while scowling at him. “And you expect me to be happy about it? Shit, how much more do you expect me to wait, Harry?”

“This is my job, Ginny. It’s not like I’m putting us aside.” He huffed while fighting down his temper. He’d love a good row with her but he was leaving in four days and he didn’t want her mad at him while he was gone.

Damn Riddle for being a completely mental in thinking only Purebloods were worth having magic. Damn the coup for killing most of the Aurors, leaving him and a few others to do the work of a hundred. Every day away from her ate at him, hollowing out his soul until he could return to her. And every time he told her about that feeling, she never believed him, that being away from her hurt worse than anything else. Some of the other Aurors told him that she has her own nightmares that make it hard to sympathize with him. Some days he believed it.

At least they were waiting until Boxing Day before shipping them out on the mission. Knowing Director Robards, they’d be holed up at the Ministry for a full day, getting their mission parameters and their fugitive and all the relevant information. Then it’d be off via secured portkey for wherever. Last time it was Italy and he was gone a month. But that had been during the early part of her training camp season and she’d been too busy getting ready except for sleep and flying for the Harpies.

This time she was on break and he was leaving her behind.

“I know you’re not but you’re with the Aurors more than you’re with me.” She relaxed slightly and lay back in their bed. He opened his arms to her and she accepted, cuddling into his chest. “But this is what you are completely happy doing, trying to make things safer. But damn it, why do _you_ have to make all of these continued sacrifices. Why aren’t the others doing as much as you are? Why haven’t they hired more Aurors to spread the workload?”

“They are,” he kissed her temple, lingering a long moment. She sighed. “Everyone who isn’t on medical restriction is on some assignment, whether it’s for this mission or countless others. But you know that when Voldemort took over, Yaxley and others murdered Aurors who weren’t Purebloods. The half-bloods were demoted, the ones that thought they could stay. The others, the ones who went into hiding, disappeared. We don’t know if they moved or were murdered.”

Ginny put her head on his shoulder and hugged him tightly. He looked down at the scars on her shoulders and wrists. It’d been years and sometimes they still made him wince, knowing to some extent what she went through while he was out saving the world and she was at Hogwarts fighting against indoctrination. She had occasional nightmares from the things she survived but wouldn’t talk about, at least with him. Only Hermione and Luna held that confidence and none of them would divulge.

He accepted that she kept some things from him. He owed it to her for what they both went through.

“You know,” she lifted her head and looked at him. Her face was puffy and her freckles stood out on her wan skin, along with her red rimmed eyes, “I think there’s nothing I can say or do that can tell you how much your departures for missions bother me.

“I know,” he whispered. “Or at least I think I do. I had to fight with Robards to allow us to go out after Christmas on this mission. They wanted to send us out last week and I said no.”

She ignored his words. “Every time you step into that fireplace I fear that it’ll be the last time I see you alive. Only when you step back through and dust the ash from your cloak can I breathe again. It’s only when I can kiss you breathless that I can breathe again, until the next time you walk away.

“But now you tell me that you’re going to be gone six months, maybe a year. And you expect me to wait for you, again, while you go save the world. It hurts and it’s unfair, asking me to constantly wait on you.” Ginny rolled off of him and turned to sit on the edge of the bed.

“What do you expect me to do, huh? Quit?” Harry’s temper broke. He rolled out of their bed and went around to the other side. “Damn it, there are people out there who would have no qualms killing you, killing me, killing anyone for that matter. Someone has to go after them and either bring them in or kill them. That’s my bloody job!”

“I know and I am tired of your job coming first.” Ginny’s voice went shrill. “I’m tired of waiting for you. Every time you walk away you say it’s for some noble reason, and this time it’s your job. Knowing your duty and understanding it doesn’t make it hurt any less.”

“So what am I supposed to do? You know the rules in place for Aurors while they are away on missions. Everything gets filtered through the ministry on three days delay. I had to pull strings to allow your Dad to tell you what letters he receives from the ministry. It was hard enough to get them to relent telling your parents anything while I am off on these missions, so they can tell you.”

“Yeah, I know,” bitterness wove through her words like gold yarn in a jumper, “all post is kept at the Ministry and the only person you can contact is the Director, who then will contact your personal contact, which is my parents, not me. I get an owl from Dad when he picks up your letter. Of course they will tell me but any contact will be anywhere from four days to a fortnight later, depending on when I hear from my parents.” She took a deep breath. “It’s bullshit.”

“I don’t make the rules, Ginny, but we have to live by them.”

“I’m sick of having to go by everyone else’s rules, including yours.”

“It’s not like I made those choices but we have to live with them, including me.”

Ginny huffed. “Well, I’m making my own rules since you’re going to be off to fuck knows where for a year.” She took a deep breath. “I want us to date other people while we are apart. I don’t want to have to depend on my own wand and hand for another year before you get back to me. See, I want to marry you but this making me wait seems one-sided for your benefit. And I think you should consider it too since you’ll be off to fuck knows where. That way, if you come across a bird while you’re off on the mission, you can have a go with her and not feel guilty if she shoves her knickers in your pocket.”

Harry stood there completely boggled. “Do what? No! Absolutely not!”

Her face turned hard. “That’s the price for you doing your job. It’s either that or I break it off with you, move out, and when you get back, we’ll see how we stand.” His mouth flopped open, no words coming out. “I told you at Christmas two years ago that I wanted my own life and I wasn’t going to wait around forever for you.”

“But Ginny, - “

“That’s what I am asking, Harry. You get to go save the world while I have some fun while you’re gone.”

“Ginny, that’s – “

“You said that I should have my own life, right?”

“I did, but – “

“And you said that I should chase my dreams and not hold back, right?”

“But I didn’t mean that meant _us_!”

“Well, you chose to chase your career as an Auror. Your career comes first right now. I’m choosing me while you are gone, so that means us. I have mine too, and you won’t be in it for the next year. And I’m not throwing you over the side, Harry. You’re going to be gone a very, very long time. And you also know how often we fuck, right?”

“Yeah, I know. It’s almost every day, and sometimes twice a day, depending on our schedules.” He looked at his hands, pondering the ring that he purchased for her years ago. It was in his vault, waiting for her for the right time to ask for her hand in marriage. “I knew I should have proposed to you.”

“Look at me, Harry.” He did and saw her fierce look burning him. “Do you think I would have agreed to an engagement right out of Hogwarts like you wanted? No. And it’s proven over the last 18 months that your job and mine make it difficult to have any bit of normal right now.”

“But if I had – “

“I wouldn’t have accepted and you’d have gotten completely upset, stormed off in a fit then hidden for a while from everyone wondering if I was playing around with you – when it’s not about you at all. It’s about me needing to know who I am, what I bring to our relationship, besides being Harry Potter’s girlfriend.”

“You’re more than that, to me.” He sat down on the edge of the bed, feeling bereft.

“Harry,” she knelt in front of him and squeezed his hands. “You’re biased. How many articles have been about you and your girlfriend, stirring the cauldron of gossip, because you have a girlfriend, or you were seen out on a date or any other sort of reasons? How many have you read that was _just_ about me and only me? Well, I am making a name for myself and since you’ll be off to wherever to catch someone, I should work on me, see a few people, snog one or two, maybe, and then know with absolute certainty that you’re it for me. I have to bring more to our relationship than just your wife.”

“This is completely mental and makes no damn sense.” He looked at Ginny, pale and yet determined. “I already know you’re it for me and have been for yonks. I thought you knew you were it for me, too.”

“It is, but that is our life right now. And I am but I’m angry at the situation, where you’re constantly working, and going off on countless missions. I’m angry that the Aurors ask so much sacrifice from you with little consideration of the consequences. But you’re going to be gone a very long time, doing what you enjoy, and I’m not going to sit at home relying on my wand and wishes while you’re off saving the world. I’m going to live while you’re off doing your job.”

“How can you ask me this? Am I not enough for you?” Harry shook his head, looking lost. “Why would you want to do this to me? I don’t want anyone else. So what can I do to show you that this is mental and that no other bird compares to you.”

“You can’t, not while you are working at a job you love. Besides, you’re 20 and I’m 19 and have only dated me. There are other witches out there.”

“Why would I want to date anyone else? You’re incredible.”

“And once again, you’re biased. I’m not asking you to throw me over the side. I’m not making you redundant. I’m asking for a pass while you are off, and you have one as well. Have some fun, date a little, and when you get back, we’ll go from there. But until we’re engaged, you don’t own me.”

“But you said – “

“I never said, Harry. I said I wasn’t going to be my Mum, married at 18 and pregnant at 19, living only for my family. And what about you? How many times have you been away when there has been a Harpies function and you can’t attend? How many times have I had to take someone else as a date while you were at work or out on a mission? How many dates have you cancelled or postponed with me because of work? And Merlin! You don’t like attending functions anyway, especially Ministry ones, so you don’t take me out on dates to those either.”

“All this is because you’re mad at me for not taking you out more? Merlin’s bollocks.” Harry went over to the wardrobe to put on a fresh pair of pants.

“Don’t drag Merlin’s bits into this. It’s not because you won’t take me out on dates. It’s that you expect me to wait for you, putting everything we have together aside: your job, your choices, your life. It’s that you feel entitled to have me wait for you, however long it takes when you won’t fucking reciprocate. You’re not my husband yet, and even then, I will have a life, including some things in that you can’t be arsed about. Being with you doesn’t mean that I will cease to exist.”

“You think I’m entitled?” Harry’s temper exploded. “I’m not the one wanting to fuck around while I’m away because of my job. I’m not the one throwing all of this in my face when I’m leaving for a mission four days. I’m not the one wanting to throw everything we have away to have a casual fuck while I’m doing my damn job.”

Ginny’s face turned beet red and she opened her mouth a moment before closing it. Instead, she went to her wardrobe, rushed to put on knickers and a bra and a Harpies workout suit. Within a minute she was storming out of the room and stomping down the stairs. A loud _whoosh_ erupted downstairs.

Harry stood in the middle of their room in his pants, contemplating whether to go after her. No, it’s best she have time to cool off. He knew she’d be back in an hour once she cooled down. She was like Ron that way, getting irate and needing time away for a little to sort things out. She’d be back, they’d talk and things would be sorted out, probably with a frantic fuck afterwards.

Harry threw on the discarded sleep trousers and a shirt and jumper. He needed to eat if he wanted to get any sleep tonight. He went downstairs to reheat dinner and wait for Ginny to return, even if she wouldn’t talk with him. As the minutes passed, he stewed, thinking how she was right, that he’d only gone on one date with Cho and that had been a disaster. But once he’d realized that Ginny was it for him, he’d never looked at another witch, no matter how many set their eyes and their knickers on him.

More minutes passed. And even more.

One hour turned into two.

And he waited.

He finished his meal. He had waited hours now for her to return and she hadn’t come back. Harry stomped upstairs to the parlour, wondering if he would need to call the Burrow to check on her. Maybe she was there talking with her Mum and Dad about them.

He went into the room and wet towards the fireplace when he saw a note hastily scribbled on parchment.

_“I’ll be back later. I need time to cool down and think. We’ll talk when I see you in the morning.”_

“Fuck!” Harry collapsed onto his couch, huffing in frustration. No, he’d not let her run off and hide tonight, not when they hadn’t finished their argument. What she was asking was completely barmy and he wasn’t – “

“Potter? Potter?”

Harry looked up from his hands and saw Robard’s Patronus in his living room. “My apologies but you need to be in the office in an hour, with your ruck. The other team has a big lead on Crabbe, Sr. and Goyle. You’re leaving tonight and you’ll get the briefing once you get to your destination. Pack for six months, minimum.”

“Understood, sir. I’ll be in for the mission in an hour.”

The ghostly image popped out and Harry said to himself, ‘Completely fucking fantastic. There goes Christmas and any sort of fixing my problem.’ He tossed aside the parchment and hustled upstairs to pack for his trip.

* * *

“I’m so glad to be here,” Harry thought as he opened the door to the wonderful smells wafting from the Burrow’s kitchen. He’d rushed his debriefing through breakfast and lunch to escape from the ministry by dinner time. He wasn’t going to miss Ron’s birthday sitting in a conference room discussing the mission. He’d hoped the owl he sent earlier made it on time so they’d save him a seat.

Sure enough, one was laid out and after a few of one-armed hugs and kisses on the cheek, he sat down next to Ron at the table. “Hey! Glad you could make it back for my birthday!” Ron shoved over the second butterbeer at Harry. He took it gladly after not eating most of the day because of debriefings.

“I’d hated myself if I wasn’t here to celebrate your birthday with you and the family.”

Ron took a pull from his butterbeer. “You being here is a terrific present so don’t think about getting me anything.”

“Sorted!” Harry took a pull from the bottle and relished it. He’d not had much while they were out on their mission. “You know that I still got you something.” Harry opened his ruck and handed over a hastily wrapped package. “I got you something I knew you’d enjoy.”

Ron tore the paper and Harry glanced across the table at Hermione, who was watching them with fascination. Harry turned back and saw Ron opening the box and looking like a firstie in Honeydukes with plenty of galleons to spend. “You know the way to my heart, Harry.”

“I do. I knew you’d never turn down Belgian chocolates,” Harry said as Ron popped one into his mouth, groaning with pleasure. Harry took another pull. “I’m glad I got back in time, and shocked, really. I was surprised that we caught Jugson in that coffee shop in Rotterdam. I’ve honestly never had a bust go so easily. It was like he had given up and was waiting for us to arrest him.”

“And the other ones you were chasing?” Ron leaned over and whispered. “You know, Vincent Crabbe Sr.? Did you catch him too?”

Harry looked across at Hermione before dropping his voice even lower. “No, he died. But we caught David Goyle. Crabbe fought us in a warehouse in Calais. He killed one and injured two French Ministry officers before our team took him down for good. Goyle was injured but not bad enough to warrant a stay in a hospital.”

“Did you cast the last spell?” Ron inquired. “It’s one thing to disarm someone but different to use a killing curse.”

“Nah. Jones did that. Bugger didn’t give us a chance to apprehend him. He was firing off killing curses left and right. That’s why the French Aurors went down. Merlin! That was messed up. We had to stay for a week’s debriefing and attend the ceremonies for the fallen. I forgot how much I hate funerals.”

“You’d said at Christmas you’d expected to be gone six months to a year. Then I’m at my desk, checking leads on Avery and some others and here you walk in, with Jugson and Goyle. Rumors said that you had taken Crabbe, Sr. out but then I didn’t see you for a week.”

“It’s been a bloody mess, that’s what.” Harry looked around and saw Molly finished bringing out all of the place settings and everything for Ron’s birthday meal. He leaned over again and asked, “Where’s Ginny? She never misses your birthday.”

“Not here, obviously, mate.” Ron reached for the carrots. “Maybe she’s got late practice tonight.”

“She sent a letter earlier today,” Molly quipped up. “She’s sorry she couldn’t make it tonight but sent a package home for you and said she’d celebrate with you when she got back, which she said might be the end of June or early July.”

“So where is she?”

“Greece, so the letter said,” Molly answered. “Then she’s off for a set of matches in Egypt and Turkey and maybe South Africa.”

“Quidditch,” Ron answered too while mumbling through a bite of dinner. “She made the Under 22 national team. Qualifications were in January, about a month after you were out. She sent Mum a letter and I thought you one too, telling everyone she made it. If she does well, along with flying for the Harpies, she might be considered for the 2002 English National Team. But right now, she’s flying matches on Saturdays for the Harpies and on Wednesdays for the national team. It’s a good thing that the Ministry is paying for her international portkeys. She’d be broke otherwise traveling back and forth every week.”

“She tries to firecall once a week but sometimes it’s two or three, letting us know how things are going. She said she mailed you letters, once a week since you left.” Hermione looked up from the heavy tome sitting next to her. “You did get her letters this time, right?”

“Yeah, I have an enormous stack in my rucksack at the door. I came straight over from the Ministry once Director Robards released us. He said that I’ve got a fortnight’s leave and then desk duty another two weeks after that.” Harry felt the knot in his stomach tighten. “I thought she’d at least be here tonight.”

Ron pushed over the morning Daily Prophet, folded to the sports page. Ginny was photographed at an after-party for the Harpies, celebrating a win.

“Sorry mate. Ginny’s schedule is so busy now that she only gets about four hours a week of personal time, so she tells Hermione, and usually in 15 minute increments. The rest is dedicated to practicing, training, studying playbooks, or doing public relations stuff for both teams. That doesn’t include travel time either. She’s busier than you are, I reckon. Hermione says that she’s having the time of her life, even if she’s exhausted every time she firecalls, which is as often as she can.”

He watched the magical photograph cycle through, focusing on Ginny in the background, laughing with a bottled beverage in her hand. Merlin he -

“Merlin!” Harry whispered under the din of the dinner. He watched Ginny, gobsmacked, and waited for the photo to cycle back through, focusing on her closely. Sure enough, he saw her in the background, near the bar while holding the hand of one of their friends. She laughed before pulling the other person to her and kissing them before they left the frame, hand in hand.

“Damn.”

Ron turned and Harry closed the newspaper. “Look, maybe if you called tonight or owled, she might have a few hours for you to see her this weekend. She’s busy but sometimes has a couple of hours Monday morning before practice with the national team. Maybe she can arrange for you to come see her.”

Hermione wiped her mouth with a napkin. “I know she misses you greatly, Harry. She asks about you every time she calls.”

He shoved his anger down and kept his voice neutral. “I hope so. I’ve missed her so much these past months. Goodness knows we have much to talk about and catch up on.”

Harry missed the look that passed between Hermione and Ron. They both went back to eating and pointedly ignoring saying anything to Harry.

“So Harry,” Molly accidentally changed the subject, “now that you’re home, would you mind helping me and Arthur around the house a bit. Ron’s so busy with the Aurors and helping George that we could use some help around here on a few small things.”

“Sure, I’ll be happy to help.”

* * *

Harry settled back into the bedclothes and opened the first letter. He had some of the usual bits of fan mail and other assorted rubbish that Kreacher disposed of for him. He’d tossed most of those aside until he’d read every letter that Ginny sent. He found the stack – one a week since Christmas when he had been called into the Ministry early to set off for the Continent to hunt down the fugitives. He was torn over missing Christmas this year at the Burrow. Molly made Christmas special, along with Ron and the rest of the family. But he was upset with Ginny for her storming out of their residence and then him getting called in early. He knew he’d missed her later that night and many more days afterwards. Only a hasty note before he left for Ron could explain things.

‘Maybe she was right that his job demanded too much of his time, considering their busy lives at the moment. But damn, it would be nice to actually discuss it rather than via letters from months ago.’

He broke the wax seal on her first letter and scanned the contents.

_Dear Harry,_

_It’s Christmas Day and Ron says that you were called in a few hours after I left for the mission. I returned around midnight and you weren’t there. I assumed you were off at the Leaky or somewhere else._

_That’s what I get for making assumptions._

_Damn. I hate that. Work interferes with our making up so this will have to suffice._

_You were right that I was a bit barmy over it but it would be really nice if I, for once, came first in your life._

_Sure, I come first, and second, and probably a third time before you do, but that doesn’t matter that I now won’t see you for a year. I’m going to miss having your broom between my legs. It’s the only one I don’t get saddle sore from – but happily sore in other delightful ways._

_Damn. A whole fucking year. And bugger all that I didn’t get to give you a sendoff except being mad at you._

_Well, since you’ll be gone, I’m going to try out for the Under 22 English Quidditch team. The tryouts are next month. I got permission from the team to tryout. Gwenog says it’s a great way to make the National team for the summer. They usually look to that squad for some of the last picks. So while you’re away, I’ll be flying my ass off. Fifteen hours a day on a broom will help distract me from missing you. Merlin knows I’d rather have you home where I could row with you rather than off to fuck knows where and I can’t firecall you or send a Patronus._

_Fuck, I miss you so much already. I hope you are ok._

_Ginny_

_P.S. – I know you would never be happy not doing this job. I know that. But damn I do get jealous that it gets more of your time than I ever will. I get mental that you put more effort into your job than our relationship, it seems. But dad says that men are like that, finding value in their career like you do while women have other priorities. Sounds like bollocks but it seems true, considering Bill and Charlie and Percy. So I have to find ways to be myself, you be yourself, and somehow make this all work._

Harry leaned back into the bedclothes and looked towards the ceiling, hoping that he could discern some answers to his current predicament.

He had another 9 to read before he fell asleep for the night. So instead of waiting until morning, he opened all of them and set to reading her words, trying to fulfill the ache in his chest and in his bollocks. Maybe one of her letters would explain what he saw in the photo.

After the remaining 9 letters and an hour later, Harry got up from the bed to get dressed. He was going to go out since the letters did nothing to help his mood. Ron and Hermione upstairs, shagging themselves senseless, didn’t help. He needed something to quell his anger.

He went downstairs to the fireplace and grabbed a handful of Floo Powder. _‘The Three Broomsticks’_

Harry swirled away in the flames, bouncing through so many openings until he landed hard at the destination. He stepped out and dusted off all of the ashes from his jacket then used his wand to make the ashes disappear. He saw a few patrons sitting around the pub, nursing beverages or tucking into late-night meals. He didn’t care tonight except to have a few beverages, maybe talk with Madame Rosmerta who would be a sympathetic ear, and he could go home slightly pissed and still barking mad at Ginny. He had four months of her being gone and doing what she said she would do – snog a few people while he was away.

“Fancy seeing you here tonight, Mr. Potter. Butterbeer for you, perhaps? Or are you want something harder?” He looked up and saw a gorgeous woman behind the bar who wasn’t Madame Rosmerta.

“I know you, don’t I?”

“Possibly. I’m Daphne Greengrass. I was in Slytherin your year. I think we shared a few classes together over the years.”

“Ah, yes. I remember now. You were the one who Neville said was smuggling vital information to Dumbledore’s Army the year of the coup. You were the one who helped shield the younger students and kept some of the other ambitious Slytherin students from committing murder.”

She shrugged. “I did what I could under the circumstances. I’d not wish it on anyone. My dad, Healer Duncan Greengrass, taught me that doing the right thing was always worth it. I took a bit of a beating for my choices, especially from those who I thought were my friends.”

Harry felt the knot in his chest loosening slightly and the monster inside his chest humming a particular ditty while looking at Daphne. “So what are you doing working here? I’d expect you to be studying to be a Healer, like your father.”

“Well, I will, come September. All of the Healer slots this year were filled and Dad pulled some strings to get me into the next class. I took a year off after Hogwarts and travelled some, getting away for a while and learning to enjoy life. So for now, I’m working, saving up some galleons and dealing with drunken patrons at the close of business.” She smiled and it was warm and caring. “So what would you have?”

“I’d like a nice tall glass of mead. That would be nice on a cold night.”

“I can do that. So where is your girlfriend? It’s Ginny Weasley, right? I’d thought you’d be with her.”

“Oh, we’re sort of off right now, I think.” He took a deep breath. “Between her schedule and mine, it’s not working right now. She’s busy flying for the Harpies and the English Quidditch team so she’s entirely too busy for me for now. Besides, I was off working out of the country.”

Daphne pushed over the mead and Harry took a long pull from it. “Oh, that hits the spot.”

“Did you eat tonight?”

“I did earlier but a plate of chips wouldn’t be remiss?”

“How about I plate some cottage pie? I made it myself and you do look peckish.”

“Sure, why not? I’ve got a few galleons to spend tonight.”

“Be right back.”

Harry took another pull from his mead and felt the warmth cascading down his throat and burning away the anger boiling in his stomach. He sat there looking off into nothing and didn’t notice that Daphne had returned with his late evening snack. “Here you are. Hope you like it.”

Harry took an enormous sniff and groaned in delight before tucking in. “It’s delicious and almost as good as Mrs. Weasley makes. And that’s saying something!”

“I’ll take the compliment.” She smiled and he couldn’t help but smile back. She moved off to tend to other patrons at the bar and left Harry to finish his meal in peace. Daphne looked quite different from Ginny and that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing tonight. She was tall, dark haired, with a warm smile and very nice to talk with. Unlike Ginny, she was slightly thin but also quite buxom. She was pretty in her own way.

She eventually returned and refilled his glass of mead before taking his plates away. “Want to talk? I know that look. I’ve seen it enough in the year I’ve been working here.”

Harry looked up and saw her blue eyes. They looked like a winter’s pond, clear and blue like frost on a patch of ice. “Are you sure you want to hear my issues about another woman? It seems rude.”

“It normally is.” She smiled again and he felt like he had a shot of Firewhiskey. “You look like you could use a sympathetic ear tonight.”

Harry talked, for what felt like hours. He’d stop when she wandered off to refill a glass for another customer but eventually he was able to share everything. The load in his mind was finally gone, sharing it with someone he’d probably not see again for a while. A kind ear not named Weasley was what he needed.

“It’s late and I’m about to close up.”

“Really?” He looked around and saw the pub was emptied. He checked his watch and saw it was half one in the morning. “Blimey. I reckon I talked a lot tonight.”

“You did,” she smiled and finished putting away the rest of the mugs up on the rack above her head. Then she pointed her wand behind him and stacked all of the chairs onto the tables and set the mop to clean the floor. “Um, I have a question for you.”

Harry looked down at his pint and looked up at Daphne. Her cheeks were barely blushing.

“Ask away.”

Daphne took a deep breath before exhaling. “Do you want to go home tonight?”

“Not particularly,” he said quietly. “It’s been quite a while since I had good company.”

She stepped around the bar and walked up to him. “I’m not normally inclined to take a customer home but you are not a normal customer, are you?”

She was taller than Ginny, by a few inches, and she smelled of cinnamon, and lemons, and whiskey and so many heady aromas that he normally didn’t notice. He could see the small darker blue flecks in the irises of her eyes. Her smile was enchanting.

“I’m far from normal, really. But then I think you knew that.”

“Would you be fine with coming to my flat upstairs? It’s not much but it’s comfortable and warm and the bed is big enough for two.” She held her hand out to him and he reached for hers, feeling the callouses on her fingers and the slight soap smell on her skin. He saw that her hands were wrinkled, probably from washing too many things while working.

“That sounds wonderful.”

Daphne smiled. “Let me lock up then we can go upstairs.” She turned and pointed her wand at the two doors and they both heard them latch. “It’s not like anyone breaks into the place but Rosmerta is a creature of habit and I am too.” She turned to lead Harry to a hidden set of stairs to the upstairs flats. “Four of them are for rent but the fifth, over the back kitchen, is mine. Rosmerta has her own cottage outside of the town.” They went up the last bit of stairs and turned to the right and stood before the door. Daphne turned around and smiled. “Are you sure about this? You might have some regrets because you’ve had mead and – ”

Harry stepped right up to her and threaded his hands through her hair. “Oh I’m quite sure,” he said before kissing her deeply. He pulled back slightly to watch her face and her reaction. She kept her eyes closed for moments before taking a deep breath. Daphne opened her eyes and looked up at Harry. “Am I just a temporary thrill?” Her smile faltered. “Will I wake in the morning to find you gone?”

“No, but I will have to head home ‘round noon tomorrow. I have business to deal with but I will be back in the evening if you like.”

Daphne turned and tapped her wand on the doorknob. It opened and she brought Harry in with her before turning back to lock the door. “Since you’re an Auror, I know you can leave anytime. These are normal locking spells.” She pointed her wand at the fireplace, starting it up along with a candle on the bedside table. She turned back to Harry and smiled. “It seemed a bit nippy in here.”

Harry stepped back into her personal space, pressing her body into the smoke stained wood of her room. “I can but I don’t think that will be an issue tonight, will it? And the fire does help.”

Daphne pulled him to her and threaded her hands behind his neck while feeling the soft hairs on the edge of his neck. “Oh, I don’t think so, at least not tonight. Maybe later on, it will be, but tonight will be wonderful.” She stood on her toes to kiss him, feeling the warmth trickling through her body. She pulled him close and felt his growing ardour through his robes.

She broke the kiss, panting to catch her breath. “Wow,” she spoke across his face. “That is – “

He pulled her to him, kissing her like a man finding water in an oasis and drinking in to bursting. His lips left hers and trailed down her neck, nipping at the soft skin. He found the crux of her neck and collarbone and kissed her again, and again, trailing his hands under her frock and opening the top button of her blouse.

She stepped back and he stopped what he was doing. Instead of the expected recrimination, she discarded the apron she wore and worked the delicate buttons of her blouse open. Daphne stood before Harry in her blouse, open for his appreciation.

“Wow,” he said aloud and she blushed. “You’re beautiful.”

Daphne reached up and removed the elastic holding her hair up in a bun, letting her tangled hair flow down her back. It fell with the grace of a newborn giraffe. Her hair stood out everywhere, framing her face in the low candlelight.

“Come here,” she said and he took two steps to her. “I’m not going to bite unless you want me to.”

Harry gulped but reached for her once again, running his hands through her unkempt hair and over her shoulders. He pushed her blouse off which she helped discard to the floor. Daphne shook a little but Harry pulled her close. “Are you cold? I can start a fire in the fireplace for you.”

“I’m not cold. I’m a bit nervous.”

“Why?”

Daphne blushed. “I’ve not dated in a long time. It’s probably been 3 years now. Few purebloods will have anything to do with me, on account of my father.”

Harry watched her face turn away and he put a finger under her chin to turn her back to him.

“I’m thankful for your father. He saved so many lives, more than I ever did.”

“That’s not true, Harry. I’m alive because of you. My sister is alive because of you. Thousands are alive because of you.”

“I could have saved more,” bitterness dripped with each word. “I should have been able to keep everyone alive. I see the ones I failed often. I feel their judging gazes in my dreams.”

“Nonsense,” Daphne said before pulling him to her and proceeding to snog his lips off. Her hands were tugging and his jumper and shirt while his hands were in her hair, holding her while kissing her deeply. She pulled his shirt free from his jeans and ran her hands up and down his back. She broke the kiss and helped him out of his jumper and shirt before kissing him again. Deft hands worked over his body while his hands drifted to her back to unfasten her bra. A quick twist of his wrists and the bra opened.

She broke the kiss and watched his face while she shrugged out of her bra. Little puffs of air buffered his face. He, though, never broke his attention from her face.

“You can look.”

He lifted his hand from her hip to her collarbone, barely touching her skin. “Why rush when we have the rest of the night?” He kept his eyes on her face but put his hand forward, shaking slightly, touching a lock of hair at her shoulder. Her hand covered his and she pulled it down across pebbled flesh to cover her breast. She took another deep breath and flushed, flooding her skin into a rosy hue. She let his hand go and he kept his hand on her breast, rubbing ever so softly up and down on her pebbled skin. Daphne closed her eyes and leaned her head back.

Harry bent down to kiss the soft skin of her throat while palming her breasts. He ran his calloused fingers over the nipples and felt the tightening under his touch. Delightful moans welcomed his touch even more.

“Harry,” she turned in his embrace and sat him down on the front edge of her bed and kicked off her shoes. Daphne shrunk two inches and sighed happily. “Wow. You’re amazing.” She knelt in front of him, brushing her breasts on the fabric of his jeans. Harry gulped at the image before him and so many thoughts racing through his head. “Now, let’s see about your boots.” She worked easily, taking off his black boots and the socks underneath. “Really? White socks?”

Harry laughed. “I do my own shopping in Muggle London. I can’t be arsed about socks. They’re socks and few people will see them, mostly the free elf in my employment. I didn’t even know until I was 19 that there was more than one kind of sock. But these,” he lifted his foot and wiggled the toes, “are the same kind as the black ones I have at home. I don’t have to think about which pair to wear, only the next one in the drawer. Now if I have to dress up, that’s where the black socks come in: the same style, just in black. See? Easy.”

Daphne ran her hands up his black trousers and down again. “I’m absolute rubbish at this, you realize.”

“Rubbish at what? I thought you took my boots off rather well.”

Daphne laughed.

“I’m joking. I get it. I’m a bit nervous too. But would you like for me to finish undressing us?”

She scrambled to stand before him as he got up from the edge of the bed. “How about I do the same before I lose my nerve?”

Harry stopped. He opened his arms and enveloped her in a hug. “Look, we won’t go any further. I will kip on the couch you have. I’ve done that plenty of times. I don’t – I mean to say…”

Daphne put a finger to his lips, quieting his stammering. “I’m fine, Harry. I’m nervous because it’s been a while for me.”

Harry reached for her hands and brought them to his mouth before kissing both of them. “Let me, then.” He stepped up to Daphne and found the button of her jeans, opening it. He worked slowly, glancing at her every few seconds to make sure what he was doing was OK. He pulled the zipper down and gently nudged down her jeans. Daphne wiggled her hips to let the denim fabric slide down further.

“I see this is not a planned evening, then?” He saw her smiling at fact that her bra – a functional white one with little bits of lace and scalloping - did not match her knickers.

“Hardly but then it’s not every month that Harry Potter comes into the bar needing a friendly ear and a warm bed.” She shoved her jeans down the rest of length of her legs and stepped out, leaving her only wearing a pair of red hip hugging knickers. The front sat below her navel, showing a little bit of a belly on her.

Harry smiled and inadvertently palmed his confined erection, looking her up and down.

“Let me,” she said to him and reached for the buckle of his belt. Her fingers worked efficiently, shoving down the zipper on his jeans and being careful of his erection. His jeans fell down his legs, leaving him in a snug pair of black trunks. His pants twitched.

“So how – “

Harry shoved the trunks down his legs, freeing his cock below a nest of coarse black hair. He pulled her to him and he sat down on the edge of the bed, bringing her knees to the sides of his hips. She gasped at the contact his cock made on her clothed clit. “Oh God, that’s – “

He interrupted her again by kissing her. Daphne responded with enthusiasm and used her tongue to beg entrance. Harry acquiesced, letting her run her tongue along his teeth and tongue. He reciprocated gladly while rubbing her breasts with both of his calloused hands.

“Harry, more, please.”

He rolled them onto her unmade bed and helped her up towards the pillows. Once she was settled, he pressed her into the rumpled bedclothes, kissing her along her neck and chest, earning appreciative moans.

Fingernail scrapes down his back spurred him on further, working his way down her chest to her breasts. He fondled the left while kissing and sucking on the right one, then alternating back and forth. He was rewarded with nail scrapes through his scalp.

“Too much,” Daphne said aloud and pulled Harry back up to her face to kiss him with reckless abandon.

“Too much?” Harry stopped and shifted, kneeling before her to wait.

“And not enough,” Daphne blushed and gulped, almost like a hiccup. “You – you can take them - them off.” She glanced down her body to her knickers and gave him a nod that he could take her sodden knickers off.

Harry looped his fingers under the material at her hips and Daphne lifted her bum to let him remove the final piece of fabric between them. He slid them down her long legs and threw them over his shoulder towards the remaining pile. He kept his attention on her face and nowhere else, waiting yet again.

Daphne shifted a little on the bed, raising up on her elbows and shifting her knees wider, giving him a silent invitation. Harry finally smiled before letting his gaze wander down her body. Her breasts were more endowed than Ginny and they were as responsive to his attention and his touch, from what he felt a few minutes ago. Her skin was slightly tanned, unlike the porcelain white speckled with ginger freckles he was accustomed to. He gazed down her body to the thatch of brown hair between her legs, hiding her delicate flesh. They crowned the long legs that stretched out to him.

“Would you put these on the table, please?” He took of his glasses and handed them to her. She did as he asked and then rolled back into the vulnerable position she was in.

“What do you have in mind?” Her voice came out raspy, like she had forgotten how to talk.

“Well, you said it had been years, and want this to be as good for you as it is for me.”

“Really? You mean that? You’re offering,” she waved her hand over her bits and he nodded, “to do that for me, first?”

“I assume you were waving your hand towards your bits, right? I can’t see a thing without my glasses.” Harry leaned over Daphne and kissed her gently, running his tongue across her lips. “But yes, that is what I have in mind if you want.”

“Yes, I would,” Daphne whispered across his lips. “Please,” she asked. “My former never offered me such a pleasure.”

Harry lay down on his belly, wincing slightly at the awkward pressure on his cock, and spread her knees wider. With one hand, he reached up her body to her breasts, gazing approximately where her face should be, and lifted his palm up. She brought her left hand up to his and turned it over, pressing down on her left breast.

With his other hand, he opened up her rosy red lips and tasted her. She shuddered at his touch. He probed with his tongue along her sodden slit and found her clit immediately. She lifted up from the bedclothes and he held her down with his arms over her hips, feeling her back arching under his ministrations. He lapped at her swollen flesh while pressing her hips wider, giving him better access.

“Oh God Yes!” She shuddered under his lips.

Harry sucked on her clit and rubbed two fingers up and down her slit, using his callouses to find where she was most sensitive. With another shudder, he prodded her opening with one finger, being gentle with her while pressing on the nerves at the top of her vaginal walls. Her muscles gripped his finger and he added a second one while using his thumb to prod her clit under his tongue. She thrashed and he kept going, sucking gently on her clit while using another finger on her.

“Ayeeeee!” She screamed before thrashing on the bed while her legs quivered. Her legs kicked out from where he was holding her, flailing on his shoulders and back.

Harry let go and sat up on his knees. He stroked his cock a few time, awaiting her to give him the go-ahead.

She opened her eyes with an appreciative smile on her face. “Come here,” she asked and he crawled over the top of her and pressed her down into the bedclothes. Daphne reached up for his face and kissed him. “That was incredible.” She looped her knees on his hips and twisted her feet on his ass. “I’m ready for more.”

“You sure?” He asked one last time while balancing on his elbow off of her glistening body.

She pushed her feet on his ass to help him decide. He understood and nudged her slit open enough for him to poke her at her entrance. “Fast or slow, since it’s been a while?”

“You’re terribly considerate, you know. Umm, fast. It’ll come back to me quick enough.” She sighed. “My first and only wasn’t tender or considerate. He was only interested in his pleasure. You though are amazing.” Her smile showed up easily to his myopic eyes.

Harry did as she asked, burying himself balls deep on the first stroke. She gasped again, and Harry froze, seeing her wince while taking a deep breath. “Just tell me when.”

She exhaled dramatically. ‘Oh God!’ Daphne said to herself. “I had forgotten.” She shifted her hips slightly and Harry went deeper, feeling her inner walls flexing up and down his shaft. “Now,” she barely spoke and Harry pulled out slowly before thrusting back in fast. Slow and fast was his favorite for a first fuck, trying to draw his impatient orgasm out as long as possible.

“I’m not going to last long,” Harry complained. “But I figure round 2 won’t be far behind.”

Daphne nodded before throwing her head back. Her back arched, pressing her breasts up into his chest. Each movement by Harry brushed her sensitive nipples, making her thrash her head. He brushed them again before pulling out of her.

She opened her eyes and saw him back on his knees, pulling her to him. He slipped back into her waiting body and sighed at the renewed contact. “How’s that?”

“Oh, that’s nice too.”

Harry went back to fucking her how she wanted. He fought the thought in his head about Ginny and shoved it aside, focusing on the witch riding his cock, moaning in appreciation. She didn’t ask for much, just a through shagging. He would give it gladly because she fulfilled his needs this lonely March night. He released her hip and wet his fingers before finding her clit. He rubbed softly while thrusting into her, trying to hold back the spring in his bollocks. As he figured, she was sensitive to his touch, thrashing her head and moaning like a ghoul. But he wasn’t going to finish without her, at least not at first.

He slowed his hips while rubbing harder, using his fingers to thread through her lips while he pressed a thumb into her clit in random with his cock.

“Yes, Yes, oh yes, please more yes!” She screamed and clamped down on him a few moments before he exploded.

He thrust a half dozen more times, intending to milk her second orgasm as long as possible before he fell out.

She moaned again and clamped down before relenting. Harry pulled away from her damp warmth and slid next to Daphne in the bedclothes. The flat grew dark.

Harry opened his eyes to blurry vision and one lone candle lighting the room. He was warm but not stifling. He rolled over to sit up and find his glasses, shoving them onto his face. “Hi,” he said.

“Glad you woke,” Daphne moved onto Harry’s hips. He felt coarse damp hairs brushing his cock before she sat back further. “I was trying to be patient.”

“How long was I asleep?” Harry budged up some on the headboard, sitting up to regard the beautiful woman with him. Her skin was still flushed from earlier and it added to her beauty.

“Not long, maybe twenty minutes. It was enough for me to use the women’s and freshen up a touch. I also had a chance to get some butterbeers from downstairs for us.” Daphne handed over one to Harry and he took a long pull from it, wiping his face with the back of his hand. Even with his glasses, everything felt different tonight. He could feel and touch her, as well as smell her, like a musky perfume of both of them, along with sandalwood and fresh soap. The lemon and whiskey and beef tallow wafted together in the room with the rest, making the room seem heady.

“Ready for round two, are you?” He cheeked. He took another pull before putting the bottle on the side table.

She grinned at him. “Oh I am,” Daphne rose up onto her knees and slid forward to slide back down on his cock, getting seated. “I’m ready to go as long as you hold out.” She ground down and Harry closed his eyes, enjoying the moment.

* * *

“Harry?” Ginny stepped through the fireplace at Grimmauld Place and saw Hermione sitting in her favorite chair by the fireplace. She was snuggled in a blanket, reading an enormous tome in her lap. The flat wasn’t that cold. “He’s upstairs getting a shower.” She looked up and smiled brightly. “God it’s good to see you. It’s been ages. The Mediterranean sun seems to agree with you. How was the tour?” Hermione got up for a hug after Ginny dropped her Harpies emblazoned ruck.

“Oh was it something else! I loved it but I also love being able to come home and have a week off without being up at five for breakfast and healing before practice and crawling into bed at 11 pm every single night.”

“A week?”

“Yeah. Then it’s the juniors tournament then I have a month off before the Quidditch league begins.”

Hermione looked around before whispering, “So did you, you know?”

“Yeah, I did. We did for a very short while and decided that it was enough for us. If I never snog another besides Harry I will be completely content.”

“Any wizards?”

“No. I had no interest in any other wizard but Harry. But there were plenty of witches to snog. There were so many who wanted more.”

“Was it worth it?”

Ginny looked up towards the stairs before returning her attention to Hermione. “I thought so at the time.” She looked up the stairs, towards the first floor. “I wrote Harry a fortnight ago to say I was coming home. I saw that my mail was diverted to the Harpies office. I picked up a stack, mostly from fans and Mum but a couple from Harry, mostly from January and February.”

Hermione put her book in her lap. “Your affair didn’t ruin anything, did it? I’ve read that sometimes – “

“It didn’t. We’re still friends.” Ginny looked at the stairwell and up towards the first floor. “Did Harry…” Ginny tried to get the words out of her throat and found she couldn’t push them out.

“He was hurt for a while.” Hermione pulled a face and saw Ginny’s fall slightly. “And he did but he was extremely discreet about it. Ron never realized but I figured it out soon enough. I confronted him about it when I realized.”

“So who was it?”

“I don’t know. Harry said, and I quote, ‘ _a nice wizard never shags and tells._ ’ “

“I’ve been gone for six months and Harry didn’t tell you? Wait? I thought he wasn’t due back for another month, at least.”

Hermione turned to put the book on the side-table. She turned back and saw Ginny’s lip trembling. “Harry returned to England in early March, Ginny. His mission wrapped up in two and a half months. They caught the fugitives so fast it made all the English wizarding papers: two captured and one dead. He made it out of the ministry in time for Ron’s birthday party your Mum threw for him. He’d come straightaway from his week-long debriefing.”

“Shit.”

“Did he not tell you? I thought he had. I would have if I’d know he didn’t.”

“He never said in any letters I received. I thought he was still on assignment. But I didn’t get any from the end of February. I thought it was Harry on his mission and being so busy he didn’t have time to write.” Ginny settled down onto the couch across from Hermione. “But it’s not like I could have left camp for a quit jaunt home to fuck my boyfriend.”

Hermione grimaced. “It might have made things easier had you skipped out for a few hours, or knew he’d come home early. But it might have caused more problems since he knew about your situation after he returned.”

“Why didn’t my parents say anything? I asked Dad in letters and he didn’t mention Harry was home. If I’d known I’d have stopped what I was doing and come home – or at least firecalled.”

“Maybe Harry said something to him to keep it quiet? I don’t know.”

Ginny buried her head in her hands. “I think I fucked up everything good.”

“I don’t think so. But it might take some work on your part to fix things. See, he and I talk when Ron’s at work and Harry’s not out catting around.”

“And?”

“He still misses you terribly, no matter that he’s sharing a bed with another witch.”

“He told you this?”

“Yeah, he did. He said the other witch is a lovely lady, and he’s glad to have had this opportunity you forced on him but he said that she was rather boring after a while.”

“Boring? I thought he’d appreciate boring after everything else.” Ginny pulled a face. “You know something else, don’t you?”

“Of course I do.” They both looked towards the stairs and huddled closer. “It’s that while he’s been calm the last few months, he’s also been moody and restless while you were gone. He’s been moping around here and reading the papers constantly, looking for your name and picture.”

“Please tell me he didn’t come to any of my matches and not say a thing.”

“He went to a few but wasn’t going to make a scene of it, not while the two of you were in limbo.”

“We were never in limbo. I thought he was going to be gone for a year. I didn’t throw him over the side, Hermione. I swear it. I went to my flat in Holyhead to calm down and sort shit out, like he asked. I called later that night, knowing he’d be up and he wouldn’t answer. I came by twice and he wasn’t here, either. Then he didn’t show at Mum and Dad’s at Christmas and it was only later that evening that I found out from Ron that he’d been sent off early on his mission.”

“All of this is quite a bit of drama, I reckon.”

“Yeah, it is.” She looked upstairs and the two of them heard the water turn on. “You think he’ll be happy to see me? Or throw me out on my ear?”

“I think he’ll be happy to see you but you won’t know unless you go up there.”

“Sorted. I’ll leave my trunk and rucksack here and if he gives me the heave ho, I’ll go back to my flat in Holyhead.”

Hermione pointed her wand at Ginny’s things and marched them over to the front closet, storing them inside while Ginny raced up the stairs two at a time.

Ginny slipped into their shared bathroom and saw Harry’s muscled form lathering with a flannel in the shower. She squeezed her thighs together before realizing she could have her way with him if he was amenable and not exhausted from the other witch in his life.

That would end immediately now that she could actually talk to Harry about the whole bloody situation.

She stripped out of her boots and jumper, her trousers and vest. She shrugged out of her bra and looked up to find Harry had a wand pointed at her face. He dropped it as fast as he pointed it. “Ginny?” he lifted his wand. “Prove that it’s really you.”

“You caught the first snitch in your mouth.”

“And?”

“Your favorite game now is _Catch the Snitch_ using your mouth.” She lifted her hand and the golden snitch tattooed on her skin was sitting in the palm of her right hand. She closed it and opened it again and it was gone from her palm.

“Ginny!” Harry threw aside his wand and pushed back the opaque shower curtain where she could join him. She had her feet on the porcelain tub before Harry pushed her back into the edge of the tub, kissing her breathless under the flowing showerhead. “I fucking missed you so much,” his words wound around her face and caressed her soul unlike anyone else could. He took her face in his hands and rubbed his thumb across her lips before kissing her again. Water flowed down between them, over so many inches of skin before they broke apart, panting and breathless.

“I missed you too.” Ginny wrapped her arms around his neck to pull him down for another molten kiss. She broke the kiss this time, smiling at his sodden hair and lean body. “I’m so glad to be home for a week right now. I’ve needed you.”

“A week? Wow. So you’ll be back flying after that?”

Ginny ran her hands up and down the front of his body before taking the flannel out of his hand and sudsing it up again. She put the soap down and used her other hand to shove down her knickers into the bottom of the tub. “The junior worlds start next Tuesday. I have to leave Saturday morning. But I’ll be back probably in three weeks then a month off before the Quidditch league starts up for training camp.” She rubbed along his collarbone and down his arms, in every little crease she could manage. “I will, of course, stay in shape, with running and flying almost every day. But instead of being up at 5 am for 6 am conditioning in Holyhead, I can sleep in a little, eat a little, and spend time with my boyfriend.”

Harry reached for her hands and stilled them on his chest. “We are still together, right?”

Ginny leaned up on her toes to kiss him softly. “We never weren’t. I’m so sorry I had you thinking we weren’t. I thought my first ten letters conveyed that.” He let her hands go and she went back to washing his chest and his back. “I didn’t want you being married to me and having regrets when you hit 35, wondering if there was a better option out there. I wanted you to see what else there was to offer, and decide that I was truly right for you. 

“Now turn around and I’ll get your back.”

Harry did as she asked and she worked the flannel over his body, making sure to get behind his ears and the crease of his arse she loved to fondle. “You can turn back around now.”

He turned back around towards her but she knelt down to wash the rest of his bits and legs, making sure to get the spots that made him blush. He only saw a red blob in front of him before he hissed. Ginny sucked on his cock like a ten quid lolly, licking and sucking him off.

“Damn!” he felt her rolling his bollocks in her small hands while she licked the shaft of his cock and even pulled down the extra skin to lick the bell end. Whatever else he’d ever think, she was amazing when it came to giving a knob job.

“Not like this,” he growled before pulling her up from the tub bottom, shoving his tongue down her throat and grabbing her arse in both of his hands, wedging his cock between her luscious thighs. “But I do want you.”

Small hands continued to work him to the brink of madness. “I do too and I don’t want it a five minute fuck. Oh no. I want us to go for hours.”

He held her hands with his own, deflating his cock slightly. “Turn around,” his voice was deeper than usual. “Five minutes in here and round two in our bed.”

Ginny did as he asked, spreading her knees wide. Anticipation made her wet.

“Fuck,” she howled at feeling Harry’s tongue lapping at her slit and dragging his tongue all the way up to her hips. Two fingers delved her, feeling the particular spot under his fingertips inside her body.

She moaned and squirmed under his touch. But that wasn’t enough. “Get up here and fuck me raw.”

Harry stood up from behind her and pulled her wet hair back far enough to kiss her roughly. This is what he missed. He missed having a lover who he could show everything to. He missed having his lover who wanted him to hide nothing from her. He missed his lover who loved all of him, not just the sweet soft side. He missed the one who knew when to push and when to pull.

Harry spread his feet wider and thrust upward, lifting Ginny almost off the porcelain with every hard stroke. Crass words dripped from her lips on every stroke and Harry pushed as hard as he dared with her. Even though he’d spent the night with Daphne three nights prior, he felt the tightening entirely too soon.

“Ginny, if you’re coming, do it quick.”

He felt her calloused fingers working right above his cock, frantic to explode with him. He exploded first but she soon followed, fluttering up and down his cock. Harry let go of her hips and he stumbled back and sat on the edge of the tub. He turned off the water and tried to catch his breath. In the fog of the shower and lacking his glasses, all he could see was her outlined body next to the opaque shower curtain. “Fuck, that was amazing. It seems I needed that.”

Ginny turned around and knelt before him in the cooling tub. “I’d thought that you would have gotten your wand cleaned while I was gone.” Harry missed her smirk.

“Well, you did shove me away before you took off. I waited for hours before I got the call-up from Robards. I hated getting that when we’d not talked more.”

“I didn’t know.” She took his hands in hers. “I called later that night, around 1 am and you didn’t answer. I thought maybe you’d gone to sleep or went to work for a spell. I even came by the next morning and you weren’t there. I didn’t realize ‘til Christmas when Ron mentioned that you had left three days prior to your mission. So yeah, and I’m terribly sorry for that.”

“I’m still upset that you pushed me away.” Harry stepped out of the tub and found his towel, rubbing himself dry but saving his hair for last. “What was so damn important to jeopardize everything by pushing me away? Are you that sick of me?

Ginny came out of the tub next and got her towel and was working her way down her legs to her green enameled toes. “No, just the opposite. You’ve only been with me – “

Harry yelled, “And that’s what I wanted. That’s all I ever wanted. I thought you fucking knew that!”

Ginny didn’t cower from his anger. “And I didn’t want you having regrets at 35 by not playing the field, sowing your oats, bedding a few other birds, and having a taste of another witch’s brew. It’d kill me if you walked out on me after we were married, lusting after another witch or wizard because you were looking for greener pastures.”

“Is that it? Merlin, you really have no clue, do you?” Harry stormed off to their bedroom across the hall.

“What?” Ginny dropped her towel and went after Harry. She closed the door behind her while seeing him going through his wardrobe for a pair of pants.

Instead, he turned around and showed her a small blue velvet box. “Do you think I want to fuck around when I’ve had this for 2 years already, huh?” He opened the box and showed her a substantial ring inside. “I kept it because I do want to marry you and there is no one else I would want to share a life with. Fuck, you’re the only person on the whole bloody planet who knows all of the shit I went through. You know more than my best friends do when it comes to the upbringing I had, how wretched it was having a bed in a bloody cupboard and having everything as hand-me-downs four sizes too big. Fuck, you’re the only one I told about the abuse I put up with from my asshole Uncle and the beatings from my cousin Dudley. At least he was man enough to apologize for being a bastard towards me.

“Do you think I ever told Ron everything? No, because he had enough to deal with without me adding to his shit. I knew he hated being poor which was why I did what I could. I didn’t tell Hermione everything because she couldn’t cope with me when I get moody then pissed in four seconds. You though? You’ve been fierce enough since you were still a kid, like how no one would give you a shot until you stole from your brothers and made them regret not picking you for Quidditch. You’ve got a chip on your shoulder larger than mine. I was forced into my circumstances. You were victimized by yours. Riddle got into your mind and soul and fucked with your head, nearly killing you. Instead of being a victim, you turned it around and proved to the ones talking bad about you that they were wrong again. I didn’t want to prove anything but you do. You wanted to prove to everyone, and including me, it seems, that you are your own person. You wanted to show everyone that all the cocked up mess you went through didn’t bother you. You put on a show for everyone that you’re sorted. But I know better. You’re as messed up as I am. So congratulations, you’ve done it.”

Ginny took a step closer and Harry sat down on the edge of their oversized bed.

“You told me that summer, once I was somewhere for more than ten minutes, that you loved me but we both had things to work through and work on before we’d be together. I took you at your word and did what you asked. I sorted my mess and realized that there’s not another witch I’ve met, ‘cept maybe Gwenog but then she doesn’t particularly like me, not another witch who makes my heart beat so fast I could explode or that I feel so calm and content when I’m sitting with you reading a newspaper. You are also the only one, besides Ron, who knows when to let me be a brooding mess and when to kick my ass and get me moving again.” He looked up at Ginny with bloodshot eyes. “No one else compares to you.”

Ginny went to sit next to Harry on the edge of the bed.

“I have this ring and will hold onto it as long as you want because I know and respect that you want to make a name for yourself, independent of anyone else. You want the kids asking for your autograph instead of ‘ _Harry Potter’s Girlfriend_.’ You want to be flying like your ass is on fire, hearing the crowds roaring in approval for your abilities. You want to be the center of attention and being interviewed for magazines, repeating the same answers hundreds of times to adoring fans. You thrive on that kind of attention.” He turned and saw her looking vulnerable. “I dislike crowds and you relish them. You’re bored as a homebody and you need to be the center of attention by playing for two Quidditch teams and having this opportunity to have your name on the back of an English Jersey. If there is never another article about me in the Daily Prophet I will be content.”

“You know me too well,” Ginny whispered. “That’s been my dream since the first time I rode a broom all those years ago.”

“I do because you want those things and I want those things for you. And you were right, that I needed to wait for you, for when you were ready. And it’s not now, and not yet. But I also know that the day will come when you let it slip that you want me to propose.”

Ginny snorted. “Knowing us it will be after a particularly good fuck.”

Harry laughed. “Probably so.” He reached over and pulled her to him, skin to skin. “But I did as you asked when you pushed me away. But it wasn’t an intentional choice, but out of spite at first. I was so mad at you when I found out that I went out that night and – “

“And?” Ginny asked before turning to sit cross-legged on the bed. Harry stole a glance at Ginny, with her sun kissed skin, an enormous amount of freckles, no top but a towel barely covering her bits. Harry groaned a little. “Well, she was quite accommodating and sweet and gentle and it was enjoyable but it wasn’t what I wanted. We had little in common and neither one of us move in the same circles, really. She talked about her work and I did and there was almost no overlap. It was quite boring, really.”

“So who was she? I presume it was a witch, right?”

Harry gave Ginny a look. “You’re the one who pushed me to it. I think I will keep their identity secret.”

“Is it someone I know?”

Harry laughed. “I’m not telling.”

“Bet Hermione knows. She’d tell me.”

“She won’t because while she knows I have done so, she doesn’t know who or where. Ron doesn’t know anything, either, because I was quite circumspect about it.” Harry shifted to the head of the bed and lay back into the pillows. He pulled a blanket over his lower torso. “Besides, I don’t want you getting into a strop if I did tell you and you went to hex them for being a better fuck than you.”

Ginny waggled her eyebrows. “She isn’t better than I am.”

“Well, they had this thing where she – Oomph!”

Harry adjusted his glasses and saw that Ginny had used her want to _accio_ a pillow and hit him with it.

“Take it back.”

“Will not,” he cheeked and she tried to swat him again with the pillow. He ducked and tackled her into the duvet while taking her wand away from her. “Keep that up and I’ll magically tie you down.”

Ginny winked at him. “Promise?” she cooed. “That would be a nice change.”

Harry tossed the wand further up the bed before pressing his body to hers. She smirked and waggled her eyebrows at him. He responded by kissing her with a desperation that was lacking in the bathroom. He wiggled his legs between hers, pressing his cock into her nest between her legs. She spread her knees wide and planted her feet to lift her hips some.

Harry rose up to his knees and pulled Ginny to him. He drove home into her waiting flesh, pounding into her for all his worth. On each stroke, he lifted his hips and dragged his cock over the bundle of nerves inside her – hard on the instroke, up on the backstroke. Each stroke accompanied a slap of wet flesh and skin. The first one would be fast and hard. Neither wanted anything else.

Within a minute, Ginny was quivering with building excitement.

“Since I got mine already, we are going to go a while. I hope your thighs can hold out.”

He pistoned every stroke, pushing her up the bed and almost butting against the headboard. The bed rattled on the floor and bumped the wall on every stroke. Mindless words bounced around the room while Harry focused on fucking his girlfriend the hardest he knew.

Then he stopped. Ginny’s eyes opened instantly.

“Don’t ever push me away again. That’s my thing and you don’t put up with it so I won’t either again.”

Ginny nodded and Harry went back to his ministrations.

“I mean it: Never again. Understand me?” his voice ended in a shout. “Promise me!”

“Yes dear. I promise. Now shut up and fuck me.”

Harry withdrew from her body and pressed her into the bedclothes. Her nipples dragged across his chest and she hissed at him at the contact. He lifted her leg up and thrust back into her before stopping again. “Seriously, don’t you ever ask me to walk away again. I love you, only you, and I’ve known that since I had another chance at life. Got it? Because the next time I will and it will be permanent.”

“Yeah, I do.” She pulled him down to her, lips just a hair’s breath apart. “I didn’t want you regretting only being with me. There are so many – “

Harry thrust as hard as he could, shoving her head into the headboard of their bed. “Fuck,” she said and quieted instantly.

“None hold a candle to you. But it’s not just sex. It’s you. You’re amazing. You’re home for me. And yes, I missed you terribly, so much I went to a few of the matches just to watch you fly. Merlin, I love watching you play Quidditch. You have no fear while on a broom, unlike me.” He popped his hips again to hear her moan. She threaded her feet around his hips and leveraged him to his back. She slid back onto his erect cock and ground down. With her feet on the bed and leaning back, she worked her way into a frenzy, riding him for everything he was worth.

“Touch me,” she begged and he did, finding her clit in her bush of dark orange hair. She keened and he rubbed, going in opposite time of her strokes. He kept going and watched her freeze a couple of moments before she clamped down hard on his cock.

“Harry!” she screamed, legs thrust out, quivering like a plucked harpsicord string.

He thrust up and kept rubbing her clit, driving her to a second orgasm. Ginny leaned back onto his legs, using them for support while he did the work from underneath her. Her tits bounced on her chest and her legs wobbled.

He was going to give her the mother of all sexual meltdowns for what she did to him.

“One more,” he said. She stopped writhing and fell off of him. He maneuvered behind her and lifted her arse into the air. One thrust and he was back in her, pounding her into the bed. “You’re not happy unless you have three.”

She moved her face and sucked in a deep breath. “Remember the one in the shower?”

“That doesn’t count tonight.” He kept going and watched with glee as she reached up to the spot above where they were joined and gently touched her bundle of nerves. She twitched but did it again. Harry pressed harder, trying to get balls deep inside her when she exploded for the last time. Nights like then, when it was hard and fast and desperate were some of his favorites. But he also loved the three am can’t sleep shag sessions, half asleep and having his way with her. Or the five am ‘ _I need to be relaxed for practice this morning_ ’ sessions or the ‘ _had a good day at work so let’s celebrate by making love_ ’ sessions. He smiled, realizing that any time he could be with Ginny was a good time – even if she was planting her size 5 boot on his arse. Maybe his words tonight would reinforce that she was it for him.

He felt the spring tightening in his lower belly and thought of every particularly nasty image he could to slow down his imminent eruption. She was close, he could tell, by her panting and vile epithets dripping from her lips.

He leaned back on his heels and pulled her down onto him, using his calves to drive upward.

“Fuck,” she whispered and thrashed, every limb shuddering violently. Her squeal, had the room not been magically silenced years ago, would have alerted everyone from here to Blackpool.

Four, five, six more thrusts and the spring broke in his bollocks. He growled unlike the last three months-worth of fucking while holding still so he wouldn’t shove Ginny off his cock and break her head on the headboard.

She collapsed when he pulled back out of her, panting like she ran six laps at Holyhead stadium in the middle of a summer heatwave. Harry moved off his knees and heels to curl up next to Ginny, trying to remember which way was up and how to breathe along with everything else in his life. Minutes passed like seconds, each breathing in the scent of one another. He felt a short yet strong arm slide over his back, bringing him to her body.

“I know you took advantage of our break,” Harry broke the silence first. “I realized after I saw the photo why you asked for it.” Her face turned to his and he sighed. “Is there anything else I should be told? Who were they and how many?”

“How?” Ginny turned her head and saw Harry’s sober face. “When?”

“It was the 4th of March. I was finally home from my mission and I was finally released from a week’s debriefing about the case. I rushed to your parents’ house for Ron’s birthday party. You were celebrating a Harpies win and a photographer from the Daily Prophet took a picture of the celebration in the pub. I saw you snogging – “

“Harry, I – “

“Let me finish,” he whispered and she quieted. “I saw you snogging them before the two of you left the frame. It was obvious who it was and while I was upset, I wasn’t as upset as I should have been.”

“Oh.”

“That’s why I can forgive you. So tell me why and no more secrets.”

“First of all, there were no wizards. I have no interest in another wizard except you. Birds, on the other hand, I did have an interest. I snogged a few but only slept with one – the one you saw in that photo.” She rubbed her eyes. “There were quite a few who would have loved to shag me but I refused them.”

“Why her?”

Ginny turned her head. “I trust her.” Ginny took a deep breath. “She knows me as well as I know myself. Anyway, you remember about Neville, right, that he refused me that year.”

“I do. He’s our closest friend not named Weasley or Granger.”

“Exactly. But being a gentleman he was, he couldn’t help, as much as he tried to protect me. She did.”

Harry blinked in the candlelit room. “I can see that.”

“You know some of what happened that year. I’ve told you bits of it. But truthfully, the only way I survived the first term was because of her. She was there after Pansy and her gang of Slytherin princesses jumped me. She was there when other crap with the Carrows happened.” Ginny leaned up on her elbows, looking Harry in the eyes. “She kept me from doing some really stupid things to make matters worse. But when she was kidnapped at Christmas, everything went to hell. She wasn’t there to turn my anger from those sadistic bastards.

“Then, after you destroyed Riddle,” Ginny took a deep breath, “and we were all hurting that first summer but you were gone most days with Kingsley, helping the Aurors and learning from him, she was there when no one else was. I needed you and you weren’t available so I turned to her.”

“You never said anything.”

Ginny frowned. “I did but you must remember much from that night. I told you. Hermione heard me. Ron didn’t. Ron was asleep on the other couch, having worked 36 hours straight for the Aurors and George. But I thought you sober enough to remember. I guess not.”

Anger flared in Harry’s chest. “So is this what I should expect now, that when I am off on a mission, you’ll turn to her for comfort?” Harry gave her a very hard look. “You know I don’t fancy sharing.”

“No,” Ginny touched Harry’s face. “We agreed that what happened won’t happen again. I had to know and now that I do, we’re sorted. For good. I choose you and she chose us, not to include her.”

The anger quit instantly. “Really?”

“Yeah. She loves you in her own way and told me off for disrespecting her and you with my selfishness. And she was right, that I was being selfish. She said either it stopped or I needed to break it off for good with you because she wasn’t going to be a party to hurting you.”

“Wow.” Harry ran his hands through his hair. “I knew she thought me a friend but I didn’t know it was more than that.”

Ginny grunted. “It is. She said when she returns to the country she’d like to come over for dinner with all of us, including Neville.”

“All of us?”

“Yes, dear. She misses her friends. While she loves finding magical creatures, she misses her friends. So I told her that when she returns to England, she can stay with us for a spell if she wants. It’s not like we don’t have the room.”

“And us?” Harry ran his fingers through Ginny’s tangled hair. “I won’t promise not to act like a tosser and screw up sometimes but pushing you away – “

“Yes, you will,” Ginny replied, “just like I will for completely foolish for stupid reasons. Neither of us is perfect and we’re still dealing with the shit we went through. But I’ve learned that while you still have your saving people thing going, I know you will come back to me, eventually. It still sucks though.”

Harry pulled Ginny onto his chest. “You do understand, right? There are still people out there who have no qualms about killing others. As long as rogue Death Eaters are still on the loose, I will work to hunt them down and bring them in, one way or another.” Harry’s expression turned hard. Ginny touched his face again before he softened and leaned into her touch.

“I know. But my promise to you, from today onward, is that it’s you and only you.”

Harry gave her a pointed look. “Was there anyone else? Anyone besides her?”

“I snogged a few witches, mostly when I was celebrating post-match. Some slipped me keys to their flats or put their address on parchment that found their way into my pockets but I burned them straightaway or gave them to teammates. But I only slept with the one and that was mostly sleeping. While I might feel something for other women I see, I don’t know them, won’t take the time to get to know them much less consider such things unless there is something more than just a physical attraction. Without that, I won’t consider it. But Luna? I trust her as much as I trust you, along with Ron and Hermione. But I feel nothing for Hermione ‘cept as a friend who I trust. Besides,” she winced, “I won’t do that to Ron.”

“Was it worth it? You risked everything for your affair.”

“I know. But yeah, I think so. I have no regrets going forward.” Ginny leaned down and offered a gentle kiss for Harry and he reciprocated. “You?”

“I didn’t think so at the time but thinking about it now? Yeah, I did, if only to know I still want you for good. Tasting another witch’s brew wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.”

“I – “

“I will wait until you’re ready. You waited ‘til I pulled my finger out and then waited again for me to finish chasing down and ending Riddle for good. Then you waited again for me to get myself together before accepting I need you most of all. While there will be no more secrets kept from me, I will wait until you’re ready.”

Ginny took a deep breath before breaking out into a smile. “So who was she? I promise not to hex her. I’ll want to thank her.”

“Promise?”

“I promise not to hex her, or ask anyone else to do so, or make innuendo to hurt her in any way, shape, or possibility.”

Harry pushed Ginny onto her back and pressed himself down on her. He leaned down to nibble on her ear and whispered a name. Ginny laughed. “You’re right. She is pretty. I can understand why.” She put her feet on the bed and welcomed him back into her.

* * *

Daphne was wiping down the bar and tending a few patrons when Ginny Weasley walked in. There were few people in England who didn’t know the third chaser for the English Quidditch National team. Even fewer knew her reputation outside of the Quidditch pitch. But then who could miss that short stylish ginger hair and the iridescent purple dragonskin jacket and matching boots. Her fashions appeared Paris inspired.

It had been a couple of months since she last saw Harry. She wasn’t dumb. She knew that she was only temporary, someone who gave what he needed when he needed it. While not seeing him again stung a little, the mild sting was short-lived once the other woman walked in.

Ginny walked up to the bar and sat down, away from the other patrons. Daphne walked over with a smile plastered on her face while trying to hide her growing trepidation. “Anything from the bar?”

“A double of Odgen’s double distilled, if you please.”

“It’s hard stuff.” Ginny didn’t blink. “That’ll be 2 galleons.”

Ginny pushed over the coins and Daphne pocketed them. She went to the bar display behind her and picked up the dust covered bottle and poured two measures. She turned back around and set the glass down. Ginny tossed it back.

“Whoa, easy there champ.”

Ginny burped fire and wiped her mouth. “You learn early on in the professional Quidditch leagues how to drink and keep from getting completely pissed. I ate before I came in and I won’t have another ‘til I’m ready to leave.”

“That makes sense.”

“I’m here for a particular reason. I’d like to talk.”

Daphne’s anxiety grew geometrically.

“I want to thank you for helping me and Harry.”

Daphne stood gobsmacked. “Thank me? For helping you and Harry? What for?”

“Harry came to you because of me. I made some foolish and frankly poor choices; choices that hurt Harry. He sought out companionship because I pushed him away for selfish reasons. Fortunately, you who cared for him while I was away.”

Daphne put down her bar rag and leaned in close. “Whatever you think happened – “

Ginny smiled and Daphne felt her skin prickle. “Greengrass, I know what happened. He told me everything. I’m not mad at you. It’s the opposite: I am thanking you, for helping us.”

Daphne kept silent.

“I pushed him into having a break from us because I thought he would be gone away for a very long time. He returned early but I didn’t know until I returned to London. See, Harry has a bad habit of not writing. I wrote him every week while I was on tour with the teams but I only heard from him a few times, all of which were barely more than ‘ _I’m still alive_ ’ letters. I heard about him, from Hermione, but not him. I thought she was getting information from the Ministry, not from him directly.

“I finally saw him when I had a short break before the junior Worlds. We talked, including about you. He only mentioned your name after I badgered him. But he also made me promise to not hurt, hex, or insult you for any reason. And I won’t because I am thankful for you, for taking care of him.”

“Bartender, I want another,” a customer at the other end of the bar yelled.

Daphne went to pour another measure for the wizard in question before returning. She came back wringing the towel in her hands. “It was awkward, him prattling on about you a bit. But he also talked about work and other stuff. I realized that while he was a wonderful lover, we had little else in common. But this wasn’t any run of the mill bloke. This was Harry Potter wanting my company. I wasn’t going to turn him down. And I did give him plenty of opportunities to walk away.”

Ginny sighed. “I’m glad you were there. He can be a bit of a mess, I admit. But he also has gone through so much that most people can’t fathom.” Ginny put another 2 galleons on the bar top. “I did too, including much of the shit you and Pansy and Millicent did to me that particularly fucked up year. I never mentioned your name to Harry that you participated in hexing me to the point of injury. I also don’t think I ever will need to, will I?”

“I had to, but it’s no excuse, but a reason, if not entirely justified. I had to treat you like rubbish in front of the others, especially since I was funneling information to Neville and Seamus.”

Ginny looked shrewd. “I choose to forgive you because you were there for Harry when he needed you and I wasn’t. I needed time to sort my shit and while doing it, he found comfort with you.”

Daphne went back to the bottle counter and poured another double measure. She took the galleons and put them in her pocket too.

Ginny tossed back the drink and pushed her glass across the counter top. “So thank you for helping us sort our mess. We both needed it.” Ginny pulled her hand out of her pocket and showed the large diamond solitaire on her left hand. Ginny blushed slightly at the obvious demonstration. “He proposed yesterday. I accepted.”

Daphne smiled. “I see why he proposed. You’re a good witch for him.”

“Keep a look out for an owl next February. We agreed that you should be there for the festivities.”

“Really? I’m flattered. I will accept”

“Sorted.” Ginny pulled out ten more galleons from her pocket and put them on the bar. “This is your tip, for helping Harry and I fix things before he proposed and reminding us what is important. Consider it a down payment on your future career as a Healer. I figured galleons would be appreciated rather than me snogging you in appreciation.”

“Ugh, thanks but no thank you. I prefer wizards.”

“I figured. But now that I’ve had a few, I can go home and fuck my fiancé.” Ginny turned and walked to the fireplace, grabbed a handful of Floo powder. “Goodnight, Greengrass.” She stepped into the fireplace, mentioned her destination and disappeared into the swirling green flames.

Daphne shook her head, thinking that some things never change, like Ginny Weasley being the paragon of crass behavior, like her brothers. How she was a pureblood she’d never know, not with her lack of upbringing and manners. At least her choice of fashion had grown since she made the league.

“Who was that?” Madame Rosmerta came out from the back and saw orange and green swirling away.

“That was Ginny Weasley, telling me that she is now engaged to Harry Potter.”

“That was a nice surprise, coming all the way up here to tell you that. I didn’t know the two of you were friends.”

“I reckon it was and neither did I, not until today.” Daphne put the galleons in the ancient till and went back to work.


End file.
